Football | 10/30/2014 10:00:00 AM

DETROIT -- After a convincing 52-17 win over Walsh last weekend, the Wayne State University football team (4-4, 3-4 GLIAC) will travel to Findlay (4-4, 3-4 GLIAC) on Saturday for a noon kickoff at Donnell Stadium. The Warriors aim back-to-back wins since Sept. 27th.

ON THE AIR
Sean Baligian (play-by-play) and former WSU football running back Josh Renel (color analyst) will call the action this Saturday on WDTK The Patriot 1400 AM/92.7 FM Radio.  Fans can also check out the live simulcast on wdtkam.com.  Jenn Goethel serves as the sideline reporter for home games only.

THE SERIES
Saturday's contest will be the first football match-up between the two schools since Nov. 12, 2011, when UF recorded a 43-42 overtime win in Detroit to end the Warriors' three-game winning streak in the series.  Findlay won three of the first four meetings between 1923-1933, before the series resumed in 1988.

MILESTONE WATCH
- Desmond Martin needs 165 rushing yards to move into eighth place all-time and ahead of Hall of Fame inductee Craig Duppong (2002-03, 2,404).

- Michael Johnson needs 162 receiving yards to move into seventh place all-time.

- Carl Roscoe needs 258 passing yards to move past Anthony Frederick into 10th place on the all-time list.

QUICK HITS
- Wayne State's four losses this year have been by a combined 21 points including three setbacks by three points or less with two of the defeats coming in the final 30 seconds.

- After not having a 1,000-yard rusher each of the last two seasons, which ended a streak of seven consecutive years with a 1,000-yard rusher, Desmond Martin surpassed the 1,000-yard plateau last week.

- Nores Fradi recorded two tackles for loss against Walsh last Saturday and continues to lead the GLIAC with 19.5 tackles for loss this season.

FINDLAY STORYLINES
After ending its three-game losing streak last weekend, Wayne State will try to win its second road game of the season this Saturday at Findlay.  Both squads enter the contest with 4-4 overall marks, along with 3-4 conference records.  The two offenses could not be more contrasting with WSU doing the bulk of its yardage on the ground, while the Oilers move the ball through the air.  The Warriors are fourth in rushing offense (204.8 yards per game), while UF is first in passing offense (295.0 ypg).

WALSH RECAP
Wayne State ended its three-game losing streak in a big way, with a 52-17 victory over visiting Walsh at Tom Adams Field.

The 52 points scored by the Warriors were the most since a 55-0 whitewash of Tiffin on Sept. 20, 2011.  WSU totaled 521 yards of offense (271 rushing, 250 passing), while defense forced five turnovers.

On the game's opening drive, Walsh drove inside the Wayne State 40 but a fake punt was snuffed out by Marcell Jones.  Following a Warrior punt, on the Cavaliers next play from scrimmage Anthony DeDamos forced a fumble which was recovered by Jones and returned six yards to the Walsh 15.

Carl Roscoe found Trent Brodbeck for 13 yards, then Desmond Martin gained the final two yards putting WSU ahead 7-0 less than six minutes into the contest.  Walsh again drove inside the Warrior 40, but Cavalier signal caller Paul Kempe was hurried on fourth down by the GLIAC tackle for loss leader in Nores Fradi resulting in an incomplete pass.

On the ninth play of the ensuing drive, Paul Graham converted his 10th consecutive field goal, this time from 21 yards out increasing the WSU led to 10-0 late in the opening stanza.  Following a  three-and-out for Walsh, the Wayne State offense drove 71 yards in nine plays with Michael Johnson hauling in a 43-yard touchdown pass from Roscoe on third-and-16.  Johnson also had a 17-yard catch on a third-and-six, while Roscoe scrambled for 13 yards on a third-and-10.  Graham's extra point made it 17-0 with 10:50 remaining before halftime.

On the third play from scrimmage for Walsh, Fradi again put the pressure on Kempe and his pass was intercepted by James Howard.  In addition to Howard's first career pick, it was also WSU's first interception of the season.  The Warriors went 33 yards in seven plays with Martin scoring from a yard out pushing the WSU advantage to 24-0.  Doug Griffin had three carries for 21 yards on the scoring drive.  Walsh was able to drive 52 yards just before intermission with Michael Dudics making a 25-yard field goal.

Despite only running two more offensive plays (35-33) in the opening 30 minutes, WSU held a 237-145 edge in total offense.

After an exchange of punts to start the second half, the Warriors drove 75 yards in seven plays with Jay Hayes crossing the goal line on a nine yard jaunt.  Martin went over 100 yards on his second carry of the third quarter, while Hayes accumulated 25 yards on his three attempts.  The Cavaliers drove 55 yards under back-up QB Jason Fracassa but his second-and-goal pass was intercepted by Jamiil Williams.  It was Williams' second career interception.

Following the WSU punt, Fracassa completed a 17-yard touchdown pass to Jerald Robinson early in the fourth quarter cutting the Wayne State margin to 31-10.  On the first play following the kickoff, Roscoe found Val Showers wide open (and then some) behind the Walsh secondary for a 73-yard touchdown pass.

On the ensuing drive by the Cavaliers, Fradi forced a fumble by WU's Luke Lloyd with Jones recovering at the Warrior 40 and returning it 14 yards into Walsh territory.  On third-and-10, Roscoe's downfield pass was caught by Johnson as he took it away from a defender, made a move and went into the end zone to complete the 46-yard scoring toss.

The Wayne State defense forced another Walsh turnover as Jamiil Williams hit Blake Williams after a reception with DeAndre Grady recovering at the WSU 35.

Romello Brown carried six consecutive plays for 54 yards, before Sean Guinane found Aaron Weston in the end zone for a 11-yard TD pass.  It was Weston's first career touchdown catch.

Martin gained 148 yards on 30 carries with two touchdowns to pace the Warrior rushing attack.  Brown added 56 yards and Hayes contributed 30 as WSU averaged 5.6 yards on 48 rushing attempts.  Male had 10 carries for 68 yards for Walsh.

Roscoe was 10-of-13 for 239 yards and three touchdowns as Wayne State passed for 250 yards and four scores with no sacks or interceptions.  Kempe completed 5-of-10 for 26 yards with one interception before giving way to Fracassa who was 13-of-24 for 145 yards and two touchdowns with one interception.  Johnson led all receivers with seven catches for 154 yards and two scores.  Blake Williams led Walsh with four catches, while Jeremy Willison had a team-best 50 receiving yards.

The Wayne State defense recorded eight tackles for loss, led by two each from Fradi and Gerren DuHart.  Fradi also had four quarterback hurries in the contest.

SCOUTING FINDLAY
The Oilers have lost four of their last five games after winning three straight to start the season.  Findlay began the year with wins over Hillsdale (46-38), McKendree (37-28) and at Tiffin (59-22).  The only victory since the three-game winning streak was a 47-7 triumph over Walsh at home on Oct. 11.  UF is 3-2 at home this year heading into Saturday's home finale.

Senior quarterback Verlon Reed leads Findlay in both rushing (453 yards on 84 carries with seven touchdowns) and passing (170-of-281 for 2,251 yards and 18 touchdowns with seven interceptions).  Freshman Chauncey Bridges has rushed for 445 yards on 79 attempts with four touchdowns, but has fumbled three times.  Junior Daiquone Ford has gained 345 yards on 100 carries.

Senior Lloyd Henry is one of the top receivers in the conference with 61 receptions for 832 yards and seven touchdowns.

Sophomore kicker Tyler Begeja is 9-of-10 on field goals and 33-for-37 on extra points, while senior punter Alex Irastorza is averaging 39.0 yards per punt.  UF has five kickoff returners averaging over 21 yards per return.  Henry is the top punt returner.

Senior defensive back Harold Jones-Quartey leads the squad by a wide margin with 77 tackles (50-27), and also has five pass break-ups.  Senior linebacker Zach Matracia has 46 stops (26-20) including 3.5 tackles for loss.  Sophomore linebacker Myles Alexander and senior linebacker Eric Palmore-Lett each had 40 tackles.  Alexander is second on the team with 7.5 tackles for loss along with a team-high 4.5 sacks.  Senior defensive lineman Kevin Brewton has 8.5 TFL, while junior defensive back Zack Washington has a team-best eight pass break-ups and one interception.

ON THE HEADSET
Paul Winters is in his 11th season as the head coach of the Warriors.  He has a 60-60 record at Wayne State and has equaled the second-place mark of 11 coaching seasons with the legendary David Holmes (1918-28) this fall.  Joseph Gembis holds the WSU mark with 14 seasons (1932-45).

Rob Keys has compiled a 25-15 record in his fourth season as head coach at Findlay.  The Oilers are coming off an 8-3 campaign from a year ago.

IN THE POLLS
Wayne State was predicted to finish sixth out of eight teams in the 2014 GLIAC Preseason Coaches North Division Poll.  Two of Wayne State's 2014 opponents are ranked inside the top 25 this week as Carson-Newman moved up to No. 16 in the poll after a win, while Michigan Tech fell to No. 21 after losing at home to Ferris State.  Other GLIAC teams to receive votes in this week's AFCA poll were Ferris State (5th), Ohio Dominican (12th), and Ashland (23rd).

NATIONAL STATISTICS
The Warriors are third nationally in fewest penalties per game (3.88) and seventh in fewest penalty yards per game (37.00).  WSU leads the GLIAC and is 10th nationally with 11 fumble recoveries, and ranks 11th nationally in tackles for loss per game (9.3).  WSU is 28th nationally in kickoff return average (22.96) and the Warriors lead the GLIAC in sacks (2.50 per game), which ranks 49th nationally.  Offensively, Wayne State is seventh in red zone offense (89.7%), 12th in passing yards per completion (15.45), 15th nationally in fewest sacks allowed (1.00 per game), 21st in fewest tackles for loss allowed (5.13 per game), and 30th in third-down conversion pct. (.455).

COLLEGIATE DEBUTS
During the Michigan Tech game on Sept. 4th, nine Warriors made their collegiate debuts:  Ron Brant, Dustin Carlin, Jake Carrizales, DeAndre Grady, Paul Graham, James Howard, Blake Mazur, Tommy Richardson and Andy Zimmerman.  Another three Warriors made their WSU debuts in the MTU contest:  Rabeah Beydoun, Ashawn Butler, and Garrett Wiska.  Making their collegiate debut during the Carson-Newman game were Jamel Hicks, Brook Higgins, Manny Mendoza and Alex Ziedas.  Making their collegiate debut at Malone were Romello Brown.  Making their WSU debut during the Northwood game were Derrick Rodgers and Sam Tate.

WARRIORS NAME CAPTAINS FOR 2014 SEASON
Wayne State University head football coach Paul Winters, who is in his 11th season at the helm of the Warriors, announced his 2014 captains during a special "Captains Presentation" prior to the scrimmage on August 23rd.

The 2014 WSU captains will be senior center Thom Box (Milan, Mich.), senior cornerback Gerren DuHart (Toledo, Ohio / Central Catholic), senior linebacker Nores Fradi (Dearborn Hts., Mich. / Dearborn), senior running back Desmond Martin (Redford, Mich. / Thurston) and senior left tackle Ben Walker (Oxford, Mich. / Lake Orion).

Box will be in his second year as a captain while the other four are first-year captains.  Senior Marcell Jones served as WSU's fourth captain for the last two games as both Box and Walker did not dress due to injuries.

Prior to the announcement of the 2014 captains, nine previous WSU captains spoke about their time in Detroit:  Jeff Bero (1985-88), Dale Dwojakowski (1989-92), Michael Hall (2002-05), Huston Julian (1997-2000), Steve Lee (1988-91), Josh Renel (2008-11), Donald Urban (1962-64), Ed Viverette (2010-13) and Leo Wells (2002-05).

ALL SIX HOME GAMES TELEVISED
All six of Wayne State's home games will be broadcast on Comcast Xfinity Channel 900.  The broadcast team of Ryan Ermanni, Rod Beard and Joe Abramson will have the call from Tom Adams Field.  Every league contest will be shown live plus on a tape-delayed basis at noon on Sundays, 8 pm on Wednesdays and 9 am on Thursdays. The post-game report from each contest will also be available On-Demand.

WINTERS ON WEDNESDAYS
The weekly Winters on Wednesdays radio show began its third season on Sept. 3 with head coach Paul Winters joining host Rod Beard, and co-host Ashley Raymond in the studio.  The Winters on Wednesdays radio show airs every Wednesday from 7-8 pm on Newstalk 1400 AM (and 92.7 FM) and is simulcast on wdtkam.com.

WDTK AND WARRIOR ALL-ACCESS
All Wayne State football games can be heard on WDTK Radio (1400 AM/92.7 FM).  Fans can listen to the games online at wdtkam.com or watch the home games via Warrior All-Access for a $5.95 per game fee.  Sean Baligian and former WSU running back Josh Renel will call the action from the broadcast booth, while Jenn Goethel will handle the sideline reporting for each home contest.  WSU Athletic of Hall of Fame inductee and former running back Joe Gough will handle the color analyst duties for the game at Northern Michigan this Saturday.